Traps baited with pear ester and acetic acid attract both sexes of Hedya nubiferana (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae)

Abstract

This study was initiated with the objective of studying field responses of the green budworm moth, Hedya nubiferana (Haworth) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), to pear ester [PE; ethyl (E,Z)-2,4-decadienoate] and acetic acid (AA) with the aim of developing a lure attractive also for females. In the overwhelming majority of tests, traps baited with the PEAA lure (the combination of both PE and AA) caught more than traps baited with either of the constituents presented alone. PEAA lures were attractive to H. nubiferana no matter whether the two compounds were provided in separate dispensers or mixed together in a single one, and a large percentage (up to 71%) of trap catch consisted of females. Traps with PEAA lures caught (females plus males) on an average 30% of the catches in traps baited with the synthetic green budworm moth sex pheromone (only males). This suggested that the new PEAA lure had a trapping performance comparable with that of pheromone traps, which latter are used by farmers today. Consequently, the PEAA lure showed potential for future practical applications as a female-targeted lure for H. nubiferana. To our knowledge, this is the first well-documented report on the attraction of PEAA lure for a tortricid species other than codling moth.

Microlepidoptera caught in traps baited with lures containing pear ester and acetic acid in Hungary

“…The synergistic activity of AA when added to PE in H. nubiferana has been demonstrated earlier (Jósvai et al, 2016a) and our supplementary results showed here (Fig. 1) clearly confirmed the results of this previous report.…”

“…The combination of PEAA was reported to be superior to any of the single compounds in the tortricids H. nubiferana (Jósvai et al, 2016a) or C. splendana (Jósvai et al, 2016b), and similar results were recorded with the sesiid Synanthedon myopaeformis Borkh. (Tóth et al, 2012).…”

“…Considering their responses to PE being synergized by the addition of AA, both Y. scabrella and N. trimaculana appear to be similar to the tortricids C. pomonella (Landolt et al, 2007), C. splendana (Jósvai et al, 2016b), H. nubiferana (Jósvai et al, 2016a) and to the sesiid S. myopaeformis (Tóth et al, 2012). Consequently, the number of families where field activity of PE has been demonstrated increased to three.…”

A pear ester‐based female‐targeted synthetic lure for the chestnut tortrix, Cydia splendana

“…Thus, it appears that C. splendana behaves in a similar way to other moths responding to PE, like C. pomonella (Landolt et al., ), S . myopaeformis (Tóth et al., ), and H. nubiferana (Jósvai et al., ). To our knowledge this is the first report on the attraction of the blend of PE and AA as an attractant for the chestnut tortrix.…”

“…This finding was confirmed in North American (Knight, ) as well as European studies (Tóth et al., ). More recently, the addition of AA to PE was found to increase catches in some other moths belonging to the Tortricidae ( Hedya nubiferana Hübner; Jósvai et al., ) or Sesiidae ( Synanthedon myopaeformis Borkhausen; Tóth et al., ).…”